A Crack Between Realms
by Plumcicle
Summary: When Lloyd runs into an old foe, he gains hope that he may be able to save his father. To do that, they need to travel to the Departed Realm... using an unstable, new way to travel there. New villains rise and with the team split in half, things will be getting a whole lot harder and their plans may have to change.
1. Prologue

**Hello, wonderful people! Woo, my first Ninjago fanfiction! This story can be found on Wattpad, because that's where I originally posted it. This one's a little different though, since I decided if I was re-publishing it I may as well make a few edits. If you like it, then please consider to review, favorite, and follow! Maybe even share it, it would really mean a lot to me!**

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Sensei Wu summoned his Elemental Dragon as he leaped out to the ocean and landed on it. He flew over to where the drowning Cursed Realm dragged Morro down and flew over to help him.

"Morro, take my hand!" Wu cried out, reaching down and holding out his hand.

"Why? So you can take the Realm Crystal, and find your own prized pupil?" Morro shrieked in anger as he looked up at his former Sensei with a look of hate.

"You are all my prized pupils, but none of us can do this alone!" The Sensei explained with desperation. "You're strong Morro, but it takes others to make us stronger! Even me!"

Morro looked down at the water and tentacle of the Preeminent, a look of fear crossed his face.

"Take my hand, so we can be stronger together! Please, Morro!" Sensei Wu begged, reaching his hand further towards Morro. To his relief, Morro took it before taking one last look at the water. He pulled up, but the Preeminent tugged down.

How would this end?

Morro pulled harder, desperate to escape his Cursed Master's grasp. Soon, he realized it would be impossible. "Take the Realm Crystal!" He shouted at his Sensei, throwing it at him.

 _That's not all I'm taking,_ Sensei Wu thought after catching it. His dragon jerked his head and bit off the tentacle that held Morro and was then able to pull him up. Then they flew out of reach of the two new tentacles that were reaching up as well.

Morro stared at where he had just been, where he had been holding onto Wu's hand to live. He was not dead. Well, he was but he was still in the mortal realm.

Wu flew them to a grassy area above the remains of Stiix and Morro jumped off as the dragon disappeared.

"You do not have to come with us, Morro. Do not feel like you need too."

"I don't think I will. I don't feel ready yet," Morro explained. "But, I have a feeling I'll see you again."

The old sensei stroked his beard. "So do I." And with that, the ghost disappeared in the dead of the night without a trace of him ever being there.

Wu re-summoned his dragon and flew back to the others and brought Lloyd back from the realm he had been trapped in. The others had not witnessed what had just happened between him and his former student. Wu didn't even know how they would even react.

Morro looked back at the ship that was moving away from Stiix and he then put a bandana over his mouth and started heading away from it. He walked through some bushes and disappeared into the dead of the night.

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 **Yay, Morro's alive! Now, what happens next? Look's like you'll have to just wait and see. I really hope you guys are enjoying this so far. I know these chapters are a little short, but I recently moved to writing them on Google Docs so maybe they'll get longer? Idk. Bye wonderful people!**


	2. Chapter 1: Discovered

~ **~~Few weeks after Skybound** ~~~

Zane, Cole, Jay, Kai, Nya, and Lloyd were all outside on the deck of the _Bounty_ training. Jay did Spinjitzu, tripped over his own feet and fell over.

"Seriously, Jay? How did you ever become a ninja?" Cole laughed as he looked down at the Master of Lightning.

Jay was about to give a sharp retort when Misako came running to find them. "There's been a fire in Stiix. It was started by someone though and they need you!"

The ninja looked at each other with a panic and then got their equipment on, ready to head to Stiix.

They headed to Stiix on their Elemental Dragons, the wind whipping through their hair.

"Alright team, stick together. If someone started the fire then they could be trying to lure us there," Lloyd said. He wanted to make sure everyone on the team would be okay.

He was also sort of scared to go back. The encounters they had there weren't the greatest.

Soon, they had arrived at the flaming village on the water. People were running and waving their hands in the air as they screamed. Some people looked down into the water as if they were considering to jump.

Lloyd and the other ninja flew down and Nya immediately began to put out the flames with jets of water that burst from her hands.

Zane used ice and everyone else used other ways to put the roaring fire out. The flames seemed like they were almost gone in one building. This wasn't enough though, and the Ninja knew it.

Nya suddenly had an idea and smacked herself mentally for not realizing it before. Concentrating, She lifted a large pool of water from the ocean and then dropped it on 3 houses, putting the fire out.

She heard a voice mutter something and then the sound of someone running. She tracked it down and immediately began to follow.

"Nya found something!" Kai told his friends and then participated in the chase. His brothers quickly followed.

Nya followed the figure spraying water at buildings as she did so. The other ninja followed her lead. Eventually, they cornered them into an alleyway.

The figure wore a dark hood and a bandana that covered the bottom of their face, along with a tattered cape. The mysterious figure was also surrounded by a green glow.

Nya gasp and didn't hesitate to throw a sphere of water at him. It was Morro, the Master of Wind.

He quickly dodged by swerving to the side and out of the water. A fire was nearby and he ran through it. Nya put it out quickly, wanting to continue her chase on the ghost. The others were in awe and scrambled around to put other fires out. Then they went after him. They had no idea who Nya was chasing though.

Morro was running. If the ninja found him, they would kill him, right? All of a sudden, he froze. He couldn't move. He tried to move a hand, but it didn't work. He then moved to a normal standing position and didn't know why. His body wouldn't respond to what he wanted it to do.

"We got you now!" Shouted a voice. He remembered her name was Nya and that she was a water ninja. He turned around unwillingly and took off his hood. The other ninja's eyes widened.

 **Lloyd's POV**

I stared at the ghost and my gaze hardened. It was Morro. Something felt different though. Morro's eyes were glowing a neon green color, but his eyes were dark green. Something was not right. The ghost also seemed frightened.

"Did you start the fire Morro?" I asked calmly. He stared at me with an expression that looked almost undoubtedly fear.

"No. Fire's aren't my thing," he replied, his face turning unreadable. His eyes turned dark green again and he looked strangely relaxed. I remembered being possessed by him and he showed no interest in fires. So it wasn't him who started it.

Morro started to leave and then Nya sprayed water about a foot in front of him. "You're not getting away that easily!" She snapped, glaring at him. He turned around, gritting his teeth together. I agreed with Nya.

"We're taking you back to the bounty," I told him. The other ninja gave me surprised looks. "Sensei's going to want to see you."

 **Third Person P.O.V**

Morro sighed. He knew he would have to go back eventually. He just thought it wouldn't be this soon. He wondered if he was even ready to face his former sensei again. Could he do it? He would have to, now that Lloyd and his friends had found him. Why was he so afraid?

"Fine." Lloyd looked surprised that Morro would go without a fight.

Still, he asked Zane to tell the Falcon to bring Vengestone chains. One of them would have to wait there and guard the ghost while the rest put out the flames licking out towards them, trying to drag them into the flames.

Kai was watching the ghost first while his fellow ninja went to work with the fire. He was watching the ghost with a hateful expression on his face. Morro stared back, unflinchingly. Kai narrowed his eyes at the ghost.

"So, how long have you been back?" He spat at his enemy.

"You never got rid of me."

Kai widened his eyes and flames flickered at his fist but he quickly extinguished them. He couldn't make the fire worse than it already was. Then some shackles dropped from the sky and landed on Kai. He grunted and looked up, seeing the Falcon.

Morro smirked at what had just happened but it quickly disappeared when the shackles were put on him to restrain him.

Yeah, this whole thing sucked. Morro knew that much. Being captured was not on Morro's Top 10 List. Never had been, never would be. You would have to be crazy to actually enjoy being thrown in a cage.

Oh well. What amazing adventure was in store for him this time?


	3. Chapter 2: Sarcasm Wasn't One of Them

The Ninja and their prisoner walked towards the Bounty, keeping Morro chained tight and watching his every movement so he wouldn't escape.

Morro scowled. He was chained, yet they still cast suspicious looks at him whenever they thought he wasn't looking, but he noticed every look they gave him. The Master of Wind felt pathetic and weak. He hadn't been ready to face the Ninja _and_ his Sensei. Just his luck.

It didn't help that Lloyd was there too. Why couldn't he be off doing a solo mission? He just always had to stick with his team. Everything was just more awkward and tense. Morro wanted to punch something.

The raven haired ghost wanted to scream. This was not how things were suppose to happen. Why had he thought he could be good? How can you be good when people see you as the opposite? People who want to see you dead because of what you had done in the past? There was no way he would be able to just turn good, when everyone excepted the complete opposite.

He looked down at his hands, clenching his fists together to try to summon even the slightest breeze. Nothing. Of course, nothing. His powers were nothing. He was nothing. He was weak. He had _failed._

 _Because when you're at the bottom, you'll follow anyone who makes you feel like less._ He had heard someone say that before, but he was not going to let it happen to him.

He was Morro, the Master of The Wind. He knew he could handle whatever got thrown at him. He would fight and win. Whatever the ninja wanted to do with him would be nothing.

* * *

They threw him in a Deepstone cell. Turns out Sensei was out with Misako, running errands to gather supplies. This was just great.

"Oh look, you caught me. This is just where I want to be. The most perfect, coziest place in all of the sixteen realms!" He said in the most sarcastic voice possible.

Lloyd, who had been watching him, was stunned. Morro was arrogant. Morro was determined. He was many things, but sarcasm was not one of the them. He slowly spoke. "Did you just use sarcasm?"

Morro narrowed his eyes. "No, I used the power of the First Spinjitsu Master. Of course I used sarcasm."

Lloyd stared at him. What the heck was going on? There was no way this was the same ghost who had possessed him. But somehow he was. Maybe he was just dreaming.

"You seem really different," Lloyd said suspiciously, eyeing the ghost. He had to keep his guard up, because one part of him was saying it was all an act.

"Well sorry for not meeting your expectations," the ghost said as he rolled eyes.

Lloyd sighed. Maybe he should just interrogate Morro. Yeah, that seemed like a good idea.

"How are you alive?" Lloyd asked as his voice hardened.

"Sensei saved me."

Lloyd tried to hide his surprise. He knew Morro was his Uncle's former student, but he never thought he would save Morro.

"Okay... then, why didn't you come back with him?"

"Didn't want to," Morro answered with a smirk. Lloyd sighed in frustration. Now this was the Morro he remembered.

"Why?" Lloyd questioned, trying to keep his voice at an even level.

"I didn't want to walk on a ship and have everyone give me glares of death," he told the Green Ninja. Morro was lying down and looking up on the ceiling, his hands tucked behind his head. He wore an expression that said _I'm being bored to death_.

Lloyd let out a huff of frustration. This would be a long day. Then again, every day is a long day when you're a ninja. It came with the life.

"Can you go away now?" Morro snapped at him, turning on his side to look at the wall. Lloyd didn't know, but Morro's bored expression had turned to an uncomfortable look. He didn't like the questions. He didn't like how Lloyd was staring at him. He wouldn't admit it, but he was afraid. Deep down, he felt fear. He just didn't know it.

Lloyd slowly turned away, going up the steps to where all the other ninja were.

"Did he tell you any important information?"

"Did you give him what he deserved?"

"Are you going to throw him in the ocean if he tries anything?"

"Did he threaten you?"

"Is he the one who ate my pudding cup?!" Everyone stared at Jay. He looked around at everyone confused. "What? This time, it clearly had my name on it!" Everyone sighed.

"He did answer my questions. But, he seems... different."

"What do you mean by different?" Kai asked suspiciously.

Lloyd thought for a moment. "He was sarcastic and he seemed really bored. When Morro was… possessing me, I could see his thoughts. He wasn't sarcastic, he was straight to the point. He never seemed bored either. He didn't threaten me at all, though."

"That is different," Nya agreed. "That doesn't sound like the smug, powerful enemy we got rid of."

"I bet it's all an act!" Kai argued, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He was certainly not falling for the I-don't-want-to-destroy-all-of-you-act. There was no possible way the smug wind master was suddenly _good._ It simply wasn't possible in Kai's eyes, not after everything he had done. He had possessed Lloyd, beat them in a fight more than once, and tried to curse all sixteen realms.

"I don't know Kai, he seemed kind of scared..." Lloyd told him, his sentence trailing off as soon as it had began. Scared. _He had seemed scared._

"You okay Lloyd?" Cole asked him, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You look a little pale, you feeling okay? Are you sure Morro didn't do anything?"

Lloyd nodded slowly. "Yeah. I think I figured it out though. Everyone, let's go. We're all going to talk to Morro."

The ninja all to willingly followed their leader down to where their enemy was being held. Kai glared at Morro with all the heat and intensity of a wildfire.

"Hey look, I get to be annoyed by even _more_ fruit colored ninja." He snorted. Jay just stared at Morro, his mouth gaping.

"Why does everyone think we look like fruit?" Jay half said, half-shouted. "We don't!" He finished, waving his hands wildly in the air. Only Nya would understand.

"Gee, I don't know. Maybe because you all have brightly colored gi's!" He shot back, crossing his arms. "Now just _go away_!"

Kai got closer to the cell. "We're the captors. You're the prisoner. You listen to us, got it?" He snapped at Morro, who he could've sworn inched back a bit.

Morro narrowed his eyes. "Fine then. What do you want to know?"


	4. Chapter 3: What Do You Want?

**Thanks for showing this story love guys! I'm glad you all like it!**

 **Review reply:**

 **BlacknBlue102: Poor Morro indeed! I'm glad you like my writing style so much, and it's only going to get more interesting from here, trust me!**

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"Well first of all, what kind of evil stuff have you been up to?" Kai asked bluntly with a frown.

"Nothing. I've been doing nothing."

Jay crossed his arms, tapping his foot against the ground impatiently. "How can we know if he's lying or not?" He asked suspiciously.

Nya held up her arms, water forming in the palm of her hand. "Trust me, if he's smart, he won't lie," she said as she glanced at Jay with a smile. He smiled nervously back, not wanting to embarrass himself in front of his girlfriend.

Morro raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything about the obvious feelings the two ninja had for each other. Everyone already knew they wanted to be together. In fact, they seemed like they were. How could he know? He hadn't seen them in forever, and hadn't been keeping up to date with their heroic deeds that _everyone_ loved.

"Perhaps Kai should not say anything. He is very, ah, impulsive." Zane pointed out. Nindroids were always right, everyone knew that. Even Morro did!

"Yeah, Kai should just go sit in the corner," Cole agreed. "We can't risk anything."

"Hey! I'm still here, ya know!" Kai shouted, scowling at the Earth Ninja. What he wouldn't give to punch his dear brother right about now.

"Sorry Kai. I think Zane might be right," Lloyd said with an apologetic look. He felt bad, but he knew he should listen to Zane, the smartest out of all of them.

Kai scoffed and stormed back to the deck of the Bounty. Oh, well.

Morro watched him leave with a look of disdain and then turned to face his captors. "What do you want?" He asked, straight to the point.

Lloyd pursed his lips and then asked his question. "Do you know if the Cursed Realm is really gone? Like, is it really destroyed?"

Morro thought for a moment. "Yes. But, the Cursed Souls most likely went to the Departed Realm, which means your father would be there too, if that's what you're asking," he answered flatly.

Hope flashed in Lloyd's eyes. He could see his Father again, maybe even save him. This might've been the best day of his life. Maybe he could use the Allied Armor to summon him! Wait, no, Nya blew it up. So that plan wouldn't work. He could use the Realm Crystal to get there.

"Do you know what the Departed Realm's like?" This time, Zane asked the question. Kai had sneaked his way back down and looked at him.

"He's never been there," Kai protested. Morro sighed.

"Actually, I have." Kai gave the ghost an unbelieving look.

"But you never died."

"Exactly." Kai looked like he wanted to clobber Morro.

"Okay, that's enough" The Green Ninja said and started heading back to the deck of the Bounty, motioning for the other Ninja to follow him. Once they were all up, he told the others what he was thinking. "I think we could use the Realm Crystal to get to the Departed Realm. If there's a chance I can rescue my dad, I want to, no, _need_ to take it."

"Lloyd, if we open a door to the Departed Realm, bad things will most certainly happen." Zane pointed out with a troubled expression.

"Zane-" Kai began, but was cut off by Jay.

"No, Zane's right! Bad things _always_ happen to us and Ninjago! There's no reason for this to be any different!" Jay exclaimed, putting his hands on his hips.

"I'm sorry, but I have to agree with him Green Machine. This sounds to risky." Cole said with a shake of his head.

Lloyd looked around at his teammates with an expression of defeat and disbelief. He couldn't believe this! They were all against it!

"I'll go by myself if I have to, then!" Lloyd said angrily. He kicked one foot at the wooden ground. He couldn't help it!

Kai then stepped out from the others, closer to Lloyd. He put a hand on his brother's shoulder and looked him in the eye. "I know what you're going through. I've been there. If there's a chance we can get your father back, I'm with you all the way." Nya stepped forward as well.

"Me too," she said. "Plus, I'm the only one that can kill ghosts," she added helpfully with a smile.

Lloyd returned the smiled. He could understand why his other friends didn't want to go, but he was glad that he had friends who did. He noticed that Kai had his thinking look on. "What's wrong?" He asked the Fire Ninja.

"It's just that... how will we know where to go?" Kai asked with a worried look on his supposedly-handsome face. Lloyd looked down.

"Well..." He began. "There might be one person who could have an idea about it..."

Kai's eyes widened as he realized who Lloyd was talking about. The other Ninja, not including Nya, kind of just awkwardly left. "We are _not_ bringing _him_!" Kai shouted.

Nya bit her lip, thinking about their situation. She did not like it at all.

"But he's the only one who's seen it and he could be our guide!" Lloyd said. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "Look, I don't like this anymore than you do. But we have to do it. For my father," Lloyd said with a very serious tone.

Kai clenched his fists and rolled his eyes, dropping the argument. "Fine, we'll bring Morro. When do we leave?"

Lloyd smiled. He could always count on his fellow ninja.


	5. Chapter 4: You're Coming With Us

**Welcome back to another chapter, readers! I promise the action is going to start up soon, so bear with me everyone!**

 **Review replies:**

 **Poseidon Bay Seb: Oh, trust me. This isn't the worst of it. If you want to save Morro now, you're REALLY gonna want to save him later.**

 **Short summary: The Ninja tell Morro their plan.**

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The other ninja were training on the deck while Lloyd and Kai and Nya went back down to see Morro, who was in the same spot they had left him in. The only difference was that he had somehow gotten hold of a Rubik's Cube and was almost done solving one side.

"Where did you get that...?" Nya asked the ghost, looking at him with a what-the-heck-kind of look.

"It was sitting on that box," he responded dully, not looking up from the cube. Sure enough, next to his cell on the side of it was a cardboard box that someone had left. Zane had probably left the Rubik's Cube on it before they had captured Morro.

"Well, we're going to the Departed Realm, and you're coming with us!" Kai said with fake enthusiasm.

"Why me...?" Morro muttered to himself, quietly enough so no one else would hear. He already knew the answer.

Lloyd almost changed his mind about taking Morro. _Cut it out,_ he told himself. _You need to do this. For your father._

"So get up, we're leaving now," Nya told him bluntly. She, too, was not thrilled about having him with them on this adventure. Morro stood up.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go." He said and Lloyd unlocked the cell and opened the door. It made a creaking noise, echoing throughout the room.

The ninja who were not joining them were completely briefed on their plan. While they had argued, in the end, they knew they couldn't stop them from going through with this. Lloyd was desperate.

"Okay, now let's get the realm crystal," Lloyd spoke.

Morro smiled. "We don't need it," he told them slyly. Knowledge is power. Kai gave him one of his looks.

"What do you mean?" Kai asked him skeptically. Morro smiled.

"There are other ways to get there."

Nya looked at her brother, then Lloyd. "Then show us," she said, trying to keep her voice even.

Morro shrugged. "It's not here. It's in Ninjago City," he told them flatly with a bored look in his eyes. "I know where it is."

"Are you going kill us?" Kai raised an eyebrow.

"What? No. Just follow me."  
Kai let out a huff. "Alright, lead the way Ghostie."

They had all been walking throughout the streets for awhile now, about an hour or two. Lloyd was beginning to think Morro was leading them nowhere, or into a trap. He shivered.

They had given Morro a hood so no one in the city would recognize him.

After many twists and turns around the dark streets, Morro led them into an ally way, which was also another word for 'dead end'. Nya frowned and Kai scowled.

"There's nothing here!" He shouted. Morro smirked.

"That's what you think," he slyly replied. Then, he stamped his foot on the ground on a crack on the ground. It lit up and grew bigger, spreading towards the small group of ninja. Their eyes widened in surprise. The cracks slowly started glowing white and the ground underneath began to give way. They let out a scream as they fell in and Morro jumped after them. He was clearly used to this. Then, the ground patched itself back up like nothing ever happened.

They fell for what seemed like forever. Lloyd, Kai, and Nya were falling, flailing their arms as if they were looking for something to grab. Of course, there was nothing. Morro on the other hand, had his arms crossed on his chest and was in position as if he were lying down on a couch, just chilling out. Eventually they landed on the ground. At the last few seconds, Morro positioned himself so that he would land on his feet. The rest of his travel party weren't so lucky.

As they turned their heads to take in their surroundings, they saw that they were in a desert-like area. Without any water. _Yay._

"Well, here we are, the Departed Realm," Morro told them with fake enthusiasm. They looked around in awe.

"Where are all the ghosts?" Lloyd asked their guide. Morro looked at him as if he were stupid.

"Did you think they'd all be bunched together in one place?" He asked. It was the question that did not require an answer. He turned away from the ninja. "Well, let's go find your Dad. That is why we're here."

Lloyd and Nya and Kai all stood up. Kai dusted himself off. There was one spot where dirt had gotten on his gi and he was unable to remove it. He let out a pained sigh of defeat.

"Kai, it's just dirt. You can clean it off later," his sister pointed out matter-of-factly.

He sighed once again. "I know. It's just going to bother me, that's all." He began to step forward, even though he had no idea where he would be going. Morro was the one leading, and Morro was just standing there, most likely waiting for them, or rather Kai, to stop whining.

Lloyd had a look of sheer determination on his face. "Alright Morro, lead the way," Lloyd told him, his voice giving away no emotion. His hands were clenched into fists. The Green Ninja was ready. Ready as he would ever be.

* * *

 **I know the chapters are really short, I'm sorry! Just remember I started writing this on Wattpad, and Wattpad is a little different from other sites. I've moved to Google Docs, so hopefully they'll get longer!**


	6. Chapter 5: Gloomy Pancakes

"Welcome to the Departed Realm, losers," Morro grumbled to the ninja, rolling his eyes. Where they were currently at, it wasn't much to look at. Just... sand. Lots of it.

"Can we go somewhere with less sand?" Kai asked, spitting out sand from his mouth. He started turning in every direction to see if there was some sort of sign of , grass, animals, anything. But, there was nothing.

"If we start walking," Morro replied with a hint of sass. Kai glared at him.

Nya sprayed water at Kai's face, smirking. "Is that good enough for you?" She giggled.

"My hair!" He gasped, shaking like a dog to dry off. "What have you done to my hair?!"

Morro leaped back to avoid the drops of water. "Watch it!" He hissed.

"Everyone, stop messing around! We have to get moving," Lloyd told them sternly. They all shut up. Morro gave Kai one last death glare, just to be nice.

"Well, look's like we'll have a lot of walking," Kai grumbled. "Let's get it over with."

Back in Ninjago

Zane flipped the pancake, watching it spin in the air and then land back on the pan with a flop. He had to admit, there was a lot on his mind. His friends, Morro, Garmadon. Would Lloyd's plan actually work? He hoped so. He knew what it was like to lose a father.

He had his pink apron tied around his waist. None of his brothers made fun of it anymore. (Well, not as much.)

He was so busy cooking the pancake and thinking, he didn't hear Cole come up from behind him.

"Hey, Zane are the pancakes almost done?" He asked. Zane jumped up in alarm. He had never thought that would fail to hear someone come up behind him, much less his own brother.

"Cole! I did not hear you come in," Zane said. Luckily, the pancakes didn't come off of the pan when his dear brother had startled him. Breakfast was safe. (Well, until it got eaten. Then it would be gone.)

"Oh, sorry for scaring you Zane. I'm just hungry," Cole apologized.

"You're always hungry!" Jay called from the other room.

"Shut it, Zap Trap!" Cole snapped, but there was a playful tone in his voice and an affectionate smile on his face.

"That could've ended differently," Cole commented. "Gloomy with a chance of pancakes. Anyways, back to my original question. Is it almost done?"

"You can all have a seat at the table, breakfast will be ready soon," Zane said, looking at his brother one last time before turning back to the pancake.

Soon, they were all seated at the table, silently eating their breakfast.

"So, are we not going to talk about how half of our team is in the Departed Realm with Morro? I mean, _Morro_ of all people! He might make the Departed Realm become their permanent home!" Jay exclaimed, waving his fork wildly in the air.

"What's this I hear about Morro?"

Jay let out a girly scream and fell out of his chair and landed with a thud. He jumped to his feet and calmed down. "Oh, hi Sensei," he chuckled nervously. "It's just you."

"Are you going to answer my question?"

"Well, uh, you see there was a fire," Jay started.

"And we ran into Morro," Cole continued.

"So we brought him back here," Zane added.

Wu didn't seem fazed in the slightest.

"Uh, Sensei?" Jay asked warily.

Wu chuckled, _actually chuckled,_ and stroked his beard. "It was about time he came out of hiding."

All of the remaining ninja gasped.

"Wait, so you knew he was alive?"

"And you didn't tell us?"

"I don't understand anything anymore!"

Wu stroked his beard and waited for them all to calm down. "Yes, I knew he was alive and I didn't tell you because he did not want you to know."

The statement was filled with more outbursts of shock.

"What?"

"Sensei, he could be dangerous!"

"Yes, Cole is correct. He may be planning something," Zane pointed out.

Sensei Wu once again waited for them all to calm down. "I trust in my former student. How do you think I got the Realm Crystal?"

Jay opened his mouth but no words came. He closed it again and shrugged. "I thought you just took it from him." The other two ninja nodded in agreement.

"You are all wrong," Sensei Wu informed them. "Morro gave it to me. _Willingly,_ " he decided to add. He watched in amusement as they all looked at each other, Jay still in disbelief and the others just unsure. "Speaking of Morro," Wu said. "Where is he?"

"Oh, about that," Cole chuckled. "Lloyd, Kai, and Nya went to the Departed Realm. And they took Morro with them."

The Departed Realm

The group had been walking for what seemed like forever. Morro was unaffected by it, but the others... well, they were slowing down.

"How... much... further?" Kai rasped.

Morro sighed. "You realize that you just feel thirsty, right? There's no actual weather or anything in the Departed Realm. Human bodies aren't even affected by anything in here. It's like someone just pressed pause."

Kai looked confused. "Wait, what?"

Morro _genuinely_ smiled at him. "Yup. That's the magic of the Departed Realm."


End file.
